Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

When you search the medical literature for studies on berries, papers like this pop up: A “‘Blueberry Muffin’ Rash”, ahh… Or, pictures of “strawberry tongue[s],” or as a way to describe “stool appearance,” though “stools truly resembling currant jelly” are not very common. What is it with pathologists’ love affair with food terminology? —the grossest of which may be the way amoeba chest infections are described, where you spit up pus that looks like “anchovy sauce,” which sounds gross—even without the pus.

There are actual studies on berry supplementation, like on how they can mitigate the negative effects of a “high [saturated-] fat diet on the brain and behavior,” but that was in mice. Maybe a better way to mitigate would be to not feed your pet mouse a stick of butter in the first place.

Then, there are studies of proprietary berry-based nutraceutical supplements, purported to improve cognitive performance. See how there’s a steeper rise in the supplement group?

Old hats will instantly recognize this as the timeless trick featured in the 1950s classic, How to Lie with Statistics. See how they don’t start the Y axis at zero? That’s to inflate the appearance. Correct the graph, and you can see the effect doesn’t look quite so impressive.

There are studies of actual berries on actual humans, but when they’re funded by berry industry trade groups, you get studies like this: “An afternoon snack of berries reduces subsequent energy intake.” Great! But that’s compared to candy. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries—fantastic, compared, to a handful of “Jelly Babies,” which are just like coated gummy bears. Do berries offer so little that you have to compare them to candy to make them look good?

There was that famous Harvard study I did a video about, where berry-eating appeared to delay brain aging by up to two-and-a-half years. But, you don’t know if it’s cause and effect until you put it to the test. And, “[b]lueberry supplementation [was able to] improve…memory in older adults” in just 12 weeks’ time. But, that was feeding them up to six cups of wild blueberries a day. Now, this was a proof-of-concept pilot study just to see if they could get any effect. We just didn’t have any studies using more realistic doses…until, now.

How about just a cup a day of blueberries? They found that “the addition of easily achievable quantities of blueberries to the diets of older adults can improve some aspects of cognition,” like long-term memory. In terms of the number of errors, the placebo group got worse; the blueberry group got better.

You can even correlate the cognitive improvements with enhanced brain activation using fancy brain scan technology to actually visualize the improved blood flow to those same regions of the brain caused by the blueberry consumption.

Does it work in kids, too? “[B]lueberry treatments have shown positive effects on cognition in both” rats and adult humans. But, do those these “benefits transfer to children”—human children? How about a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study comparing about one cup of blueberries, to two cups, to zero cups. What did they find? “[C]ognitive performance improve[ments] across all measures,” and the more berries, the better. And, this wasn’t after twelve weeks of eating berries, but within hours of just a single blueberry meal. Sounds like a good breakfast any day our kids are having their exams.

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

When you search the medical literature for studies on berries, papers like this pop up: A “‘Blueberry Muffin’ Rash”, ahh… Or, pictures of “strawberry tongue[s],” or as a way to describe “stool appearance,” though “stools truly resembling currant jelly” are not very common. What is it with pathologists’ love affair with food terminology? —the grossest of which may be the way amoeba chest infections are described, where you spit up pus that looks like “anchovy sauce,” which sounds gross—even without the pus.

There are actual studies on berry supplementation, like on how they can mitigate the negative effects of a “high [saturated-] fat diet on the brain and behavior,” but that was in mice. Maybe a better way to mitigate would be to not feed your pet mouse a stick of butter in the first place.

Then, there are studies of proprietary berry-based nutraceutical supplements, purported to improve cognitive performance. See how there’s a steeper rise in the supplement group?

Old hats will instantly recognize this as the timeless trick featured in the 1950s classic, How to Lie with Statistics. See how they don’t start the Y axis at zero? That’s to inflate the appearance. Correct the graph, and you can see the effect doesn’t look quite so impressive.

There are studies of actual berries on actual humans, but when they’re funded by berry industry trade groups, you get studies like this: “An afternoon snack of berries reduces subsequent energy intake.” Great! But that’s compared to candy. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries—fantastic, compared, to a handful of “Jelly Babies,” which are just like coated gummy bears. Do berries offer so little that you have to compare them to candy to make them look good?

There was that famous Harvard study I did a video about, where berry-eating appeared to delay brain aging by up to two-and-a-half years. But, you don’t know if it’s cause and effect until you put it to the test. And, “[b]lueberry supplementation [was able to] improve…memory in older adults” in just 12 weeks’ time. But, that was feeding them up to six cups of wild blueberries a day. Now, this was a proof-of-concept pilot study just to see if they could get any effect. We just didn’t have any studies using more realistic doses…until, now.

How about just a cup a day of blueberries? They found that “the addition of easily achievable quantities of blueberries to the diets of older adults can improve some aspects of cognition,” like long-term memory. In terms of the number of errors, the placebo group got worse; the blueberry group got better.

You can even correlate the cognitive improvements with enhanced brain activation using fancy brain scan technology to actually visualize the improved blood flow to those same regions of the brain caused by the blueberry consumption.

Does it work in kids, too? “[B]lueberry treatments have shown positive effects on cognition in both” rats and adult humans. But, do those these “benefits transfer to children”—human children? How about a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study comparing about one cup of blueberries, to two cups, to zero cups. What did they find? “[C]ognitive performance improve[ments] across all measures,” and the more berries, the better. And, this wasn’t after twelve weeks of eating berries, but within hours of just a single blueberry meal. Sounds like a good breakfast any day our kids are having their exams.

204 responses to “Benefits of Blueberries for the Brain”

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A cup of blueberries aids brain performance. OK, but compared to what?

One source tells me that a cup of blueberries contains 14.7 g of sugar. That’s about 3.5 teaspoons of sugar. How does the improvement in brain performance “within hours of a just a single blueberry meal” compare to the effect of 3.5 teaspoons of sugar?

That’s exactly what the studies did! Sorry if I didn’t make it clear in the video. These were placebo-controlled studies. The control group got a fake blueberry powder that has the same amount of calories and sugar (and in the pediatric study even the same amount of vitamin C), effectively proving that there is indeed something special in blueberries (and presumably other berries as well) that improves brain function and fast!

Honey, if you can’t get the real thing, then yes, a powdered form might be the next best thing. I wish for you that once you get off the ship, you can wander inland to some blueberry bushes and eat to your heart’s content. There’s something about picking blueberries off the bush and putting them straight into your mouth that no store-bought blueberry – or powder – can ever match.

I seriously thought he was very young and out there on the big old ocean on a big old navy ship – unable to see land, let alone walk on it and able to get to real blueberries… I’m kinda old, so I have begun to call young people, “Honey”, like old people I’ve known in the past who called me, “Honey”. But I guess on the Internet, we can’t assume who is lurking behind any assumed identity. Could be anything or anyone.

Well, ex-Navy Corpsman, same generation as me… Sorry I called you “honey” but I did so because anyone who is currently serving as a corpsman on a ship or in a sub is probably pretty young and held ‘captive’ out at sea, so he could probably not obtain a better form than powdered, and I didn’t want to make ‘him’ feel bad about his choice. But I would choose powdered food last after every other form.

Each step along the way removes more of the nutritional value of the food. There is great value in the water contained in fruits and vegetables, as it has been filtered through the plant. Frozen fruit is usually frozen soon after picking, so it is usually pretty nutritionally well preserved nutritionally, though some think freezing degrades foods. Dried berries are good for flavoring, since they are sweet – an improvement over processed sugar – and flavorful due to being concentrated. Powdered berries are ok in a BIG pinch… not just a little pinch, but a BIG one… unless you are the manufacturer of powdered berries – are you? I don’t want to offend you again by commenting negatively on your business.

Mercury retrograde will finally go direct this coming Sunday the 19th. Just sayin’.

It’s always kinda fun to read the comments on websites like this during the MercRetro 3-week transit. Bickering, quibbling, foot-in-mouth type statements should simmer down soon — relatively speaking. Back to booooring? :-)

Am I being overly “mercury retro”? Usually during mercury retrograde, I find myself dragging out a rough draft of some book I started writing on years ago and begin hacking on it to try to make it “better”. Actually, I just made a note to myself to see if I might already have a draft for a book on a certain topic – tomorrow. I will eat some blueberries… maybe that will help me write more clearly. It would be so convenient if I could just revise something old that I’ve forgotten about, instead of starting from scratch. Probably all my rough drafts were begun under Mercury retrograde. Haha… Caught red-handed. True confession… it’s late and I was giggling at myself all the way through, in the writing of this comment, so I hope no one takes it too too seriously. :)

Well, during a MercRetro transit we ARE urged to REdo stuff started earlier. Clean up, add finishing touches and so forth. So yes, this IS a good time to work on the draft, etc. Just hold on to it until after Sunday. :-)

Or so “they” say. It can truly be an interesting/fun time, if we’re open to it. We need a lot of patience too, however. As in, this too will pass.)

Thanks, YR. You’d never know I am an astrologer, would you? I don’t know a lot of things – like prediction – but I did invent something called the AstroTemplate… so that is what I know… midpoints & harmonics… so fun!

Ahso, Patricia — you’re a sort of jack of all trades! :-) Might you share some vital statistics? (Only a few of us would know what you’re talking about, anyway.) For instance, your sun, moon and rising signs? Any trines? Challenging squares? Conjunctions of three or more planets in a house (stellium)? Of course, if you do, you realize I might be able to tell how old you are, if that’s a concern. So you probably won’t reveal the whole nine yards. But maybe a little bit?

Back in the day, I was much more “into” astrology than I am now. At one time I correctly guessed 13 people’s sun signs just from knowing them a tiny bit. However, our personality is a combo of all three…rising, moon and sun. To get an exact reading/progression/prediction, we really need the exact time and place of birth. But you already know this!

Actually, I just made a note to myself to see if I might already have a draft for a book on a certain topic – tomorrow. I will eat some blueberries… maybe that will help me write more clearly. It would be so convenient if I could just revise something old that I’ve forgotten about, instead of starting from scratch. Probably all my rough drafts were begun under Mercury retrograde. Haha… Caught red-handed. True confession… it’s late and I was giggling at myself all the way through, in the writing of this comment, so I hope no one takes it too too seriously. :)
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No worries about taking the above comments too seriously, although I reserve the right to take your blueberry comments seriously as I think for the most part you are spot on.

Just so you know, I think you are a breath of fresh air personality wise and I appreciate your writing skills. I am loathe to admit it (as I’ve long since discounted the importance of our connection to the stars and planets) but I was once interested in the “occult” (read: astrology.)

I was hoping to gain an advantage by somehow getting an insight on the future. I realized I was barking up the wrong tree when I told a gf that her birth sign meant she was this and that to which she totally agreed… then I realized I was referencing the wrong birth sign and like a dumbass, told her my mistake. She felt duped and I began to feel I was being duped over the long haul, so that ended my association with astrology.

YMMV, that is, your mileage may vary, so don’t take my astrology comments as anything more than my personal experience.

“when I told a gf that her birth sign meant she was this and that to which she totally agreed… then I realized I was referencing the wrong birth sign and like a dumbass, told her my mistake. She felt duped and I began to feel I was being duped over the long haul, so that ended my association with astrology.”

Lonie, you may have made a fool of yourself during a Mercury retgrograde transit. Not to worry….we’ve all been there. :-)

Lonie, you may have made a fool of yourself during a Mercury retgrograde transit. Not to worry….we’ve all been there. :-)
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Heh, heh, heh, heh… Trust me YR when I tell you I have made a fool of myself during all kinds of signs and transit thingies. ‘-)

Oh, that IS funny, Lonie. Please don’t be too hard on yourself. And thank you for your compliments. I like to look at astrology to see how world events look through that filter… especially earthquakes – when they used to occur naturally. Those charts were SO dramatic. I wrote articles for astrology magazines about the 1989 CA EQ and compared it to the 1906 SF EQ. Very interesting. I gave up on earthquakes when I couldn’t see how a certain earthquake’s chart could possibly indicate earthquake – and someone told me it wasn’t an EQ – they had tested a nuke in the desert outside the NV city where we were staying for an astrology conference.

I would attend conferences because I invented a tool called the AstroTemplate, which taught me about midpoints & harmonics, and I would sell them at astrology gatherings. And that tool “evolved” under the perfect astrological aspects… pretty interesting time in my life. I felt I had a divine assignment. :) To me, it’s great fun to see how everything is so carefully and beautifully orchestrated.

THEN I would have clients come to my office at times when some sort of healing aspects were occurring, like a pimple ready to burst and I didn’t know who to send them to for therapy, so I began working them through the transits using the tools I’d learned through the years… and often they’d just “blip” into a “past life”… That was one of the most fascinating time periods of my life.

But I don’t know much about transits or predictive astrology. My interest is in understanding myself, others and how relationships work, what is at the heart of a current life lesson, etc… To me, astrology is a bit like the study of chemistry. Each chart is like a diagram of a molecule and different charts fit together differently. You know – some people bring out the best in you and others bring out the worst. You can see it when you compare charts. I used to use it to understand relationships that formed on the Internet when it first began. I am the kind of person who just can’t live with unanswered questions – I have to have good explanations – and THEN I can let go and accept the person who has been a mystery to me… and relax. I find it easier to accept people once I understand who they are under their outward presentation and why it is we interact the way we do. We’re all here to heal… to let go of fear and to experience the love that we are.

We’re all here to heal… to let go of fear and to experience the love that we are.
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Not all… I’m here to learn. That is, to learn anything that might keep me from needing to heal. And for the most part I don’t feel fearful at all.

Dr. Greger has a video on frozen foods somewhere around here. Freezing does not degrade them, they usually have more nutrition than when bought on shelves except in the case spinach surprisingly having a little less vitamin c when frozen whereas cauliflower has more and that the enzyme in frozen broccoli is killed in the blanching process needed to make sulforophane but adding mustard seed powder after it’s cooked adds back the enzyme.
As for dry, it’s my understanding that it depends on the fruit. I know dried amla berry powder has an incredible amount of antioxidants but according to a video here, dried blueberries have significantly less.
Fresh off the vine is amazing, I always have a garden in the warm months, next year I want to grow berries.

1) Fresh off the bush organic berries 2) Store-bought organic berries 3) Berry juice (organic and not from concentrate) 4) Frozen whole organic berries 5) Dried berries 6) Powdered berries
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Patricia, I have no problem with your list other than your ordering thereof. That is, due to availability, I put that type of berry in prime position.

By that I mean if I have store bought fresh berries I’ll eat those (but may also eat powdered the same day.) If I’m out of store bought fresh and want to add to oatmeal or an occasional bowl of ice cream, I’ll add frozen. I do drink Just Blueberry juice and Beet root juice daily whether I eat fresh or not. I also drink blueberry tea but I don’t expect much in the way nutrients from that.

And I do eat a powdered berry mix folded into a jar of raw cacao powder and about 8 to 10 other powders. I just dip out a couple of heaping teaspoons, moisten with a little pure hot water (tap water is not pure) and when everything is properly dissolved, I add some almond milk, a few dashes of angostura bitters, a small amount of pure maple syrup for taste, and voilà… more health in a glass than I can hardly stand!

Wow, Lonie, that sounds pretty amazing. Care to share your recipe more specifically? Which powders? Sounds like a really good tonic for ‘whaevert ails ye’… or just to feel GOOD!!! I feel more energy just thinking about it. LOL

The one I’ve found and like is called Fruitein. The label says Blueberry, Red Wine Grape, Blackberry and Black Currant. Says it’s a high protein energy shake and the orac value (whatever that is) is 2000.

With the berry powder and raw cacao powder I also add some Niacin powder, some inulin powder, a little ashwaghanda powder, some Moringa Oleifera powder, some magnesium powder, some creatine powder, some goat whey powder and finally some peanut butter powder. When it is mixed with a little hot water I then hit it with a few dashes of angostura bitters, some vanilla (these two things help the powders to mix better) and if I think about it I may add some just tart cherry juice to the drink along with the almond milk. Oh, and about half of one of those meal replacement drinks to sweeten the concoction so it is easier to drink.

Patricia, a word of caution. If you include the Niacin powder, go easy on that until you find your happy place. As you are probably well aware, Niacin (B-3) will cause flushing and temporarily drive you nuts if you overdose.

That said, Niacin is one of my best friends as I dissolve some of the powder in distilled water and spray my whole body with it every so often. Just keep it out of the eyes and it does wonders for the flesh, causing almost immediate exfoliation. Rubbing the skin with guava leaf tea will enhance the exfoliation. I don’t use soap of any kind and had to figure this out to clean my body.

Oh, and the guava leaf tea was brought to my attention as a way to fight diabetes by a doctor who had practiced in the jungles of Brazil with one of those units that donate their skills. He said he was offered a cup of guava leaf tea and without a common language did not understand it would lower sugar. He said he drank that and (his words) almost died from low blood sugar before a member of his group counteracted it.

Not sure how accurate his story is, but I did find real guava leaves on Amazon and as managing glucose is something I pay attention to, I drink (and wear) the guava leaf tea regularly. ‘-)

Lonie, you are certainly a gift to us all. Thanks for all the information you share.

I assure you I am VERY RESPECTFUL of niacin. When I was 26, a couple of younger friends OD’d on niacin and had strokes. I think that spraying it on my skin would be a much safer way to take it. Thanks for the idea – and the info about guava leaf tea – will try both of these things – carefully, very carefully. My skin doesn’t like soap much either. Thanks, Lonie, again!

Lonie, that is a mega concoction you are making there. I’m trying to eat single-ingredient meals, but it’s good to have a list of things to consider including in my diet, even if I don’t eat them all at once.

Virtually all fruits are available in powdered form. Why not make a cocktail out of several of them to encourage a synergistic response?

The same can be done with spices, which contain the highest anti-oxidant levels of any foodstuffs.
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I’m in complete agreement with your statement.

(OBTW, I was trained as a combat medic but managed to become a personnel specialist, but working as a company clerk for an ambulance unit attached to the 91st evac hospital just outside of Da Nang. My unit shipped over just after TET.)

Hmmm….sounds like this joint is infested with more ol’ coots ‘n crones than I previously thought! Good show!
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Speak for yourself! I’m pretty sure I’m only in the latter years of my pup stage. ‘-)

I’m kinda of the mind that those who immediately refer to “sugar” or “carbs” or “calories” as bad things- to be those who have yet to comprehend, by practice the wellness bestowed upon the practitioner, the goodness and “ease of application” of whole plant foods. But maybe since they’re thinking about it, they’ll soon catch on.

Simply put: I live on “carbs” and calories mean nothing when delivered with the fiber nature packed them in- with blueberries about 5-7 days per week.

I have other sciences/applications to study, Dr. G has this stuff sorted well-enough for me. And he’ll let us know when something changes. Thanks.

Actually a cup of blueberries contain 12 grams of sugar. I think you generally want to add more fruit to your smoothies that are higher in both vitamin C and sugar. Add ginger and flaxmeal in the end to help lower the glycemic load. This way you achieve a great taste.

“Simply put: I live on “carbs” and calories mean nothing when delivered with the fiber nature packed them in” Agreed.

Cyndi, you really don’t need to worry about any glycemic load (not referring to diabetics of course) with fruit. Dr. Greger actually has a video on here where they gave human subjects 20 servings of fruit per day and it turned out that they got healthier for it (I don’t remember all the glorious details). And in another video, if I’m remembering correctly, it showed how the antioxidants in berries helped to reduce blood sugar spikes when eaten with a meal – I believe that was talked about in the avocados and red wine video.

Umm … last I checked … 14.7 g if sugar bound in the fiber within a cup of blueberries is not at all equivalent 3.5 teaspoons of refined sugar …

Also I don’t think there is anything to suggest that the sugar bound in fiber is the reason for brain performance nor that consuming 3.5 teaspoons of refined sugar will enhance brain performance …

Rather than take a reductionist approach that there must be one thing in the blueberries that fully explains the study results, why not just accept that blueberries have a certain je ne sais quoi ? The amount of molecules/atoms that form the blueberry and how our bodies decide which parts of blueberry to absorb (after we eat them) and at what rate and how that might help or hinder our health seems incredibly complex … and I am sure the answer lies not in one thing but millions of things processed in million ways …

DA, it’s my opinion that there’s no substitute for whole plant foods and their amazing benefits and that they’ll never understand in full the brilliant complexities of these things, but I think it would be safe to assume that if you’re unable to get blueberries, that other berries and other high antioxidant whole plant foods would do the brain good.

I’ve been adding 1/4 cup of blueberries (usually frozen) to my morning hot cereal for many years. Maybe I should omit the berries one day just to see if my brain takes a hiatus. How would I know for sure? To find out if it can “work” even better, I’d have to scarf down a whole bloody cup of the berries? Uh-uh. As it is, I already put a banana on my cereal, plus walnuts, hemp seeds, etc.

Maybe you should increase your quarter cup to a half cup instead, “[A]dding blueberries to our meals can actually blunt the detrimental effects of high glycemic foods; but how many berries? [A] quarter cup of blueberries didn’t seem to help much. But a half cup of blueberries did.”https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-fruit-is-too-much/

Has anybody ever tested to see if maybe somewhere between the 14 cup and 1/2 cup measurements there is a glorious point where an amount of berries “blunted” the detrimental effects of high glycemic foods?

I suspect that the ratio of blueberries to bodyweight may be relevant too.

Of course in the study of the effects on children, there were no actual cups of blueberrie involved. It was a drink made from powdered freeze dried blueberries that was used.

That may have made a difference – a powder may be more quickly, easily and completely absorbed than whole foods like actual blueberries. It is therefore possible that more whole blueberries may be needed to achieve the effects seen in the study, than the simple equivalent amount to the powdered blueberry drink.

“….the minimum level of blueberry consumption at which a consumer may realistically expect to receive antioxidant benefits after eating blueberries with a sugary breakfast cereal” , taken from the first paragraph of Joe’s link. So, the antioxidants rose to effective levels after consuming 1/2 cup of blueberries.

YR, the study that was featured by Dr. Greger in the video that I linked to states that the antioxidant power 1/4 cup of blueberries was not enough to blunt the negative effects of a high glycemic meal, but that 1/2 of a cup was able to raise your body’s antioxidant level above baseline. That’s pretty good for only an additional 29 calories.

If your morning “hot cereal” is made from a whole grain, it is probably not considered a high glycemic meal, *AND* you are eating other elements to your bowl of goodness that will also help boost the antioxidant content of the meal, namely, _”I already put a banana … walnuts, hemp seeds, etc.”_

You’ve outlived your husband so you’re doing something right, or at least better than he did…

YR (Mostly WFPB), when I saw Dr Greger’s videos about soy milk’s effect on antioxidants I realised that I had probably nullified all my antioxidants for the years I have been thoroughly enjoying coffee/soy milk almost-lattes. I might never achieve the rosy cheeked antioxidant glow, but I figure if I even have a breakfast let alone one I really enjoy, I’m not going to worry which side of the bowl my blueberries are sitting on. btw, really enjoying the blackberry season this year !

Damn Joe… that was edgy statement with the whole “at least something better than him” … Just because someone passes on sooner than another doesn’t mean person b is necessarily doing something better, I mean person a could have been hit by a bus…

YR, if you have been eating 1/4 cup blueberries for MANY YEARS, then you probably are far better off than most people who are enrolled in a study and suddenly eat a cup or two of blueberries for a week. You have built up a storehouse of whatever it is in blueberries that is good for you, whereas it is highly possible the study group were deficient in that substance to begin with and the addition of blueberries kickstarted their recovery.

My idea is that anything that is darkly colored contains lots of minerals. Goiter is caused by iodine deficiency (due to the intake of our modern, new and improved table salt) and is corrected with an addition of iodine to the diet. Bi-polar or whatever they call it, is treated with lithium, a simple mineral that is contained in full-spectrum sea salt. All the minerals in the periodic table of elements are contained in seawater – and in cellular fluids – and in the same proportions. It is possible that many diseases – including mental diseases – are caused by mineral deficiencies, and they simply haven’t yet determined which minerals sufferers are deficient in and therefore need, to reverse which conditions. The white, sparkly salt that we see on most dinner tables is a byproduct of the mining industry, which removes all the precious minerals and sells them to the pharmaceutical industry, which then makes drugs with them that they sell you for a very high price. They sell what is left – sodium chloride – to us for “food” and the rest to the tanning industry for curing leather and city street departments for melting ice off the roads in winter. If we had been raised with simple, sun-dried seawater and organically grown plants for food, I believe we would not develop deficiency diseases – either physical or mental diseases. I use only full-spectrum Celtic sea salt. It doesn’t elegantly “pour” from salt shakers, but it sure tastes good and works well. You can buy something called a “salt box” at really cool stores.

Well, Tom, thank you for prefacing your post with “As far as I know…” firstly because some of us might have decades of actual, practical, personal experience with both types of salt. Secondly, most cultures all over the world (which rank higher than the U.S. in health statistics) use natural sea salt – not white, sparkly “free-flowing” table salt. And thirdly, it appears that the link you provided goes to a rather superficial, less than logical article written by someone whose name nor credentials could be determined. Fourthly, did you know that both “Whole Health Chicago” and the Morton Salt Company are based in Chicago? Could the author of your article have used Morton Salt as their research source?

We all know that “scientific studies” run by big labs – such as those in university settings or in the pharmaceutical industry – are funded only if there is a huge corporate profit to be made… no? So, let’s ask this question of a pharmaceutical company and Morton Salt:

“Would you please fund an expensive study to determine which kind of salt is healthier for human consumption?”

Seriously, Tom, Morton Salt would quickly go broke if consumers knew that the minerals mined from sea salt are precious medicines in themselves – and that they are sold to pharmaceutical companies which then manufacture VERY EXPENSIVE drugs to treat ailments which might have been unnecessary, had the consumer used full-spectrum salt in the first place. And , not to be redundant, but… the pharmaceutical companies very well might also go broke if the consumer used salt that already contained all the minerals that the pharmaceutical company specializes in making from sea salt. Oh, dear, where would the profits go???

So I would ask you to sincerely ponder:

“How can there be no difference between refined salt, NaCl – and unrefined sea salt with all the minerals in the periodic table of elements and in the same ratios as in seawater and in bodily fluids?”

Is it just a coincidence that unrefined sea salt contains precious minerals that pharmaceutical companies make expensive life-saving drugs from? Nothing perfect, divine, good, pure and beautiful about salt and the healing minerals it contains… no, not at all… just a big coincidence.

Dr. Greger is encouraging us to truly let food be our medicine… and the food already provided on this planet is the BEST medicine ever! We don’t need “new, improved white flour, white sugar, white salt PLUS the marvel of modern medicines made from the minerals removed from full-spectrum salt”… We need everything in its simplest, most natural form.

“Just eat yer danged full-spectrum salt” and keep the ‘free-flowing’ salt in your garage to use on your walkway and driveway in winter.

Patricia,
There are two basic kinds of body fluids – extracellular and intracellular. Extracellular fluid is, relatively speaking, high in sodium and chloride, but low in potassium. The opposite is true of the intracellular fluids (primarily plasma and interstitial fluids). So unrefined sea salt could not possibly match both types. Moreover, the most concentrated mineral in extracellular fluid is sodium, whereas in sea water and unrefined sea salts, it is chloride. More details at e.g.https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/26-1-body-fluids-and-fluid-compartments/http://oceanplasma.org/documents/chemistry.html
And this only touches the surface of the differences in concentrations of minerals. In other words, it is not true that unrefined sea salt and body fluids have the same ratios of minerals.

Patricia, Thanks for the url. I have nothing against sea salt, if that is how one wants to get the minerals in it. The minerals in sea water that I would not want, e.g. lead, arsenic (get enough from my brown rice!), occur at such low levels that it seems they would pose no health problem. On the other hand, one can get all the minerals needed from plants. If one is deficient in some mineral or other, e.g. magnesium or calcium, I think there are better ways to correct that than eating a hunk of sea salt. What I object to are the kinds of extreme health claims made by those who are marketing sea salt as a miracle food.

gengogakusha, I don’t know ANYONE who eats hunks of sea salt. I just sprinkle a little on my food. In ages past, those who lived inland thought of salt as a miracle because if you are deficient in minerals, all sorts of ailments might occur… and a little bit of salt would reverse their suffering. Note that naturally occurring minerals act quite differently than heated, processed minerals. I wouldn’t go anywhere near most supplements.

” Replenishing electrolytes by consuming sea salt can create an imbalance of certain electrolytes, typically calcium, potassium and magnesium. Three popular sea salt products contain all the primary electrolytes (except hydrogen carbonate). However, the percentage of sodium and chloride is much higher than the the other electrolytes.”

Well, I certainly agree. I wouldn’t try to rely on sea salt for all the minerals I need… I eat FOOD to get most of my minerals… But soils are depleted these days, so even the best organic produce is not necessarily chock full of healthy minerals.

Workers in Italy used to sprinkle seawater (SALE) on their vegetables and that is the origin of our word SALAD. The word SALARE in Italian means to CURE – no coincidence. People used to treasure salt and it was valued more than gold. Why? Because without the minerals it provides, people become ill and even die. Many people today are deficient in minerals and are – unfortunately – ill as a result. And most American bodies have an overabundance of sodium chloride because they eat processed foods which usually contain refined salt, NaCl. So, what to do? What to do?

When I used to eat chips and other ‘convenience foods’, I consumed plenty of NaCl and was deficient in trace minerals, so for years I used a product from the Trace Minerals company that had the sodium and chloride removed. I put drops in my drinking water. But now that my diet is pretty much free of refined salt, I use a different Trace Minerals product – one with all the minerals, including NaCl – or just drop a few grains of Celtic salt in my water. The company you linked to appears to be talking to people who eat pretty much an all-American diet and therefore probably have an overabundance of NaCl. However, if someone is deficient in any one of the five minerals they discuss, in addition to NaCl, that someone would probably be deficient in dozens of other minerals – around a hundred of them. Real salt and saltwater contain all the minerals listed in the periodic table of elements.

I would never trust a human mind to make a product that could compete with fulll-spectrum sea salt. Human labs have struggled for years to make a baby formula to replace mother’s milk. They have learned, unfortunately, that they just can’t fool Mother Nature… they can only guess what vital minerals are in mother’s milk… and they have guessed wrong over and over again. “Minimum daily requirements” are geared to only prevent grievous ailments – not to create radiant health.

People used to treasure salt and it was valued more than gold. Why? Because without the minerals it provides, people become ill and even die.
—————————————————————————————————————————–
Not discounting your defense of salt as you have obviously done much research on the subject. It’s just that I have always thought the reason people treasured salt was due to its preservation properties.

From wikipedia:

It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, and two historically significant salt-cured foods are salted fish (usually dried and salted cod or salted herring) and salt-cured meat (such as bacon). Vegetables such as runner beans and cabbage are also often preserved in this manner.

Good point about the blueberry groups vs. years of eating them, Patricia!

As for salt, I don’t doubt that natural salts are SO much better for us than refined table salt with anti-caking agents and who knows what else added to them. But I think if someone does add salt it should be limited for reasons shown in other videos here and I don’t think salt should be turned to for any kind of mineral deficiencies, I’m sure the trace amounts are beneficial if you do have it but to get substantial amounts you’d have to consume way too much. To take advantage of the mineral-rich seawater, sea vegetables are an amazing way of doing so. I take kelp granules for iodine… it’s really the whole food, I say “take” because I just swallow 1/4 or 1/2 a tsp a day.

Scott, yes he recommends against kelp because it’s so extremely high in iodine, but I don’t actually eat the kelp as a side of vegetables or seaweed salad or anything like that, I take a very small measured amount instead of taking an iodine supplement. For me it’s extremely useful that it’s so high in iodine because I can just get one container of the dried kelp granules by Maine Coast and it goes a really long way for me.

After having lived in Oregon and the Midwest, where respectively the total dissolved solids (TDS) in tap water are 25 and 375, I do believe that where you live is a big factor in your mineral consumption and deficiencies. Since I don’t know WHAT minerals are in tap water here in the Midwest, I remove most of the solids with reverse osmosis, then finish the job with a Zero Water filter but then I add trace minerals or a few grains of Celtic salt to my drinking water. I have friends here in the Midwest who have kidney-bladder problems. I suspect their bodily plumbing is similar to a house’s plumbing – which here becomes clogged and encrusted from exposure to mineral-overly-rich tap water

As for kelp – the oceans are polluted. Perhaps that is why he warns against using kelp for iodine. But many vegetables contain iodine… and you don’t need much. Radishes, strawberries – anything dark red or blue – see iodine in solution.

Dr. Greger actually recommends INCLUDING sea vegetables in our diet because they’re very beneficial, he warns that kelp is extremely high in iodine and gives other suggestions. I get Maine Coast sea vegetables because they’re USDA organic (not sure how they do that with wild cultivated sea weeds) and sustainably harvested and the company goes through good lengths to provide pure, safe products. I’ve had really good luck taking their kelp granules. Opinions on iodine seem to vastly differ, I like the insurance of taking the kelp because I don’t often eat sea vegetables and I basically cured myself of a mild thyroid problem and want to keep that up. I also love cranberries as a source of iodine :) Good to know about radishes and strawberries.

Well, I guess I need to apologize. I didn’t mean to dis sea vegetables. I too use sea vegetables – but only from the East Coast. Where I live now, there are only West Coast sea vegetables for sale in the stores, so I order them on the Internet. Kelp is a difficult one. But you inspired me… I’ll look for capsules with Atlantic kelp. I probably have some whole kelp in the cupboard… maybe I’ll make some soup. Thanks.

Interestingly, I have a friend here who used to not be able to tolerate iodine. His thyroid was affected by some massive electronic equipment he was exposed to in a college physics class. He could not eat salt that was ‘fortified’ with iodine because the iodine would keep him awake. The irony is that his diet seemed to include many of the foods that are highest in iodine (btw, beets are also good), so his body was nudging him to “let food be his medicine”. But recently – after retiring – he became really weak and ill. We were worried about him. Then he began experimenting… ingesting unrefined sea salt in the morning and avoiding it afternoon. His general health has improved significantly. I’ll encourage him to research Dr. Greger’s info re sea vegetables. He likes salads for breakfast, so maybe he’ll like morning soups too.

Right, S… real salt should simply be used in lieu of table salt but if someone already has a noticeable mineral deficiency, it is not to be used to fill that void… It’s more of a preventative. I’ve been using it for almost 50 years. Before, I was constantly sick. After, I have not been sick at all. So I can validate the profit theory… If everyone used real salt, there would be little need for medicine and medical doctors – even for psych drugs and shrinks… no offense to MDs & shrinks.

Thanks for the iodine info! I didn’t know beets had them. No need to apologize, I worry about ocean pollution too but I just try to get from clean sources I trust. I wish I could find fresh seaweed in stores, I miss seaweed salad (especially after all this talk about sea vegetables lol).

That’s so weird about your friend, glad he’s doing well now.

Yeah, I don’t know… I know a lot of people omit salt entirely and I have drastically reduced mine, but I’d be miserable living salt free every single day of my life. I’m really active and when I went salt free for a week straight, I actually started feeling weaker, not sick or tired but just weaker. While I think salt should be used only in small amounts and intake should be limited, I have a hard time believing natural salts like Himalayan from the ancient sea has zero benefits in small amounts and don’t react differently in the body than refined table salt. I really wish there would be a well designed study comparing how natural vs. refined salt act in the human body. I only ever heard of studies where they didn’t seem to specify the type of salt used.

Maybe they could simply study the health of those who live in countries where they eat real salt vs the USA where virtually everyone eats the white sparkly stuff… Oh! I guess they already did that. We are WAY low on the WHO list… WAY low… or at least were way low before they reorganized the list, hoping we’d look better. Oh, here’s an interesting tidbit: “the 2000 results have proved so controversial that the WHO declined to rank countries in their World Health Reports since 2000 , but the debate still rages on.” Here’s the info I remember from back then. If anyone here finds better news – please let me know if things have improved over the past 18 years.

“Yeah, I don’t know… I know a lot of people omit salt entirely and I have drastically reduced mine, but I’d be miserable living salt free every single day of my life. I’m really active and when I went salt free for a week straight, I actually started feeling weaker, not sick or tired but just weaker. While I think salt should be used only in small amounts and intake should be limited, I have a hard time believing natural salts like Himalayan from the ancient sea has zero benefits in small amounts and don’t react differently in the body than refined table salt.”

Apologies for the confusion in my above post. When we post from email all formatting seems to get stripped and it shows only the part of her post I quoted. My comments, after referencing those by S should have been shown as:

I wish I had kept the reference but I did not… I read recently that salt itself is not a bad thing if we keep it real. They even went so far as to say we can exceed one or another of the health associations guidelines for salt intake. Maybe for people in very poor health in re: blood pressure and/or heart disease, a zero added salt intake could be unhealthy but I’ve adopted a casual use of salt in small amounts like you have done. Sea salt is my preferred version, and since it is difficult to shake from a shaker, I just put it in a closed jar and sprinkle it on a food that just begs salting… like watermelon for instance.

Heh, yeah, the salt on the watermelon seems to enhance the flavor and even the perceived sweetness of the melon. It may be one of those regional or even family tradition things.

For instance, in my family we also put black pepper on cantaloupe. After learning that black pepper enhances the availability of many nutrients (like turmeric for instance) I think somewhere in our past we intuitively knew that black pepper is a health spice. Otherwise, it just doesn’t make sense to pepper a cantaloupe.

For those wondering, the :ui04_like: was an attempt to copy and paste from a post on the h4vuser forum to this forum. Obviously didn’t work so I thought an explanation was warranted. There are enough mysteries in the world without me adding another unexplained one. ‘-)

Hah! Yes, I did mean to say healthy. Funny when you write a post these little errors and omissions don’t pop out. Then when published, they stick out like a blood blister on your little pinkie. (I know because I have one. ‘-)

Yeah, pepper mills… and I’ve seen matching salt ones as well. I wonder if they require a certain type or shape of salt?

I have one of each and the difference is that the pepper grinder has a metal grinding mechanism, while the salt grinder has a ceramic grinding mechanism because real salt is moist and will rust a metal mechanism.

That said, I don’t use much salt outside of what is contained in the food I eat. And I’ll probably stay that course due to the fact that my lab results put me in the middle range of salt content. I truly believe we can have too little salt in our body just as we can have too much, but one’s lab results are good monitoring data for a permissible range.

YR, I think if you enjoy putting a quarter cup of blueberries on your hot cereal you don’t need to worry about adding more than you’d prefer to in your recipe. That quarter cup is an amazing addition to your meal and there’s no way it isn’t doing incredible things for you. Adding any amount of something healthy is a positive thing.

We need to just ignore them, they’re obviously just a troll trying to get attention to the article. The argument has been put to rest many times in other videos since they’ve so frequently posted about it, so we really shouldn’t even discuss it because that’s clearly what this person wants us to do. I’m not even clicking on the link… I assume there’s ads on the site, they likely get money every time someone clicks.

Yeah and you’ve been posted it for months under multiple videos and you’ve gotten some really good responses from people. I think by now you’d realize that Dr. Greger doesn’t have an interest in addressing it. I’m sorry but I think it seems like you’re trying to promote the review.

Konrad, you’ve already gotten responses from moderators here and there have been many an intelligent response as to why that review isn’t even worth addressing but if you personally still find it interesting that’s your prerogative but the thing is is that Dr. Greger doesn’t have “beliefs” but rather acknowledges the evidence. It’s irrational to think that a brilliant M.D who dedicates his life to research would change his non-opinion-based views because of some unqualified person who essentially wrote a blog. Lots more to say on it but many already have.

Yeah, and the arguments that countless people have presented to you in response to her blog under numerous videos here were pretty great ones. Dr. Greger doesn’t actually have arguments, he simply presents evidence. I think it’s incredibly important to consider one’s qualifications or lack there of in the world of medical science as well as the world of statistics, both are extremely complicated things that require thorough training. Anyone could come up with an argument and make it sound convincing, thus the sea of misinformation the world is flooded with. Even scientific study is so complicated that there are more poor studies than there are well-designed ones.
All you have to do is look at the mounting evidence that Dr. Greger presents in his book and on this site, there is far more thorough and valuable information contained here and in his book than in a single blog from a girl who decided to start playing around with statistics. Statistics can even be so complicated that there is a book entitled “How to Skew Statistics” or something like that, which Dr. Greger mentions in a recent video of his. Credentials are very important when it comes to certain things. But even with credentials aside, it’s important to get information from trusted sources with no conflict of interest.

“t’s irrational to think that a brilliant M.D who dedicates his life to research would change his non-opinion-based views because of some unqualified person who essentially wrote a blog. ”
As I know Dr. Greger at one time changed the mind after somebody in commentary below video indicated mistake of Dr. Greger.
“And the arguments that countless people have presented to you in response to her blog under numerous videos here were pretty great ones.”
As I remember these arguments were related to her criticism of Campbell “China study”. Continously I don’t know where Denise Minger is wrong in the critical review of “How Not to Die”. I think if Dr. Greger will this review he will admit that she is right.

“. Dr. Greger doesn’t actually have arguments, he simply presents evidence.”
I think there is no pure presenting of evidence. Evidence is always somehow interpreted. For example, if Denis Minger is right Dr. Greger mistakenly cited a paper which doesn’t actually look at the effects of high-oxalate vegetables — only total vegetable intake as evidence for oxalates doesn’t rise the risk of kidney stones.

“As I know Dr. Greger at one time changed the mind after somebody in commentary below video indicated mistake of Dr. Greger.”

I’ve never seen him “change his mind” over presented research due to a comment… could you please be more specific and perhaps give a title or link to that particular video where we might find that comment? I HAVE seen him correct technical errors pointed out in the comments section but never change presented findings.

“As I remember these arguments were related to her criticism of Campbell “China study”. Continously I don’t know where Denise Minger is wrong in the critical review of “How Not to Die”. I think if Dr. Greger will this review he will admit that she is right.”

Ahh… so after a little digging, the truth comes out! You’re not simply curious to see what Dr. Greger has to say in response to this review as you’ve numerously suggested, you’ve already decided that she’s right so whether or not I’m right about your promoting this review for personal reasons, I’m right that you’re promoting this review over a personal belief.
And actually you had SO many replies, they did not all refer to “The China Study” at all, you had a broad spectrum of responses covering the review vs. “How Not To Die” in general and Dr. Greger vs. Denise Minger.

“I think there is no pure presenting of evidence. Evidence is always somehow interpreted. For example, if Denis Minger is right Dr. Greger mistakenly cited a paper which doesn’t actually look at the effects of high-oxalate vegetables — only total vegetable intake as evidence for oxalates doesn’t rise the risk of kidney stones.”

Well going on this idea, certainly Dr. Greger is FAR more qualified to interpret evidence than Denise Minger, to an absolutely incomparable degree.
As far as her claims vs. the scientific evidence presented by Dr. Greger on oxalates, all you need to do for the answer is to look that observational studies. As TG said, Dr. Greger’s presentations align with the evidence; Denise Minger’s do not.

” And if you find an error, even better! Dr. Greger has already re-recorded dozens of videos because astute readers found egregious mistakes (like the chlorella debacle). Please help us make the site as robust as possible by leaving comments or sending us a note if you have any questions anytime about anything.”https://nutritionfacts.org/faq/

“Ahh… so after a little digging, the truth comes out! You’re not simply curious to see what Dr. Greger has to say in response to this review as you’ve numerously suggested, you’ve already decided that she’s right so whether or not I’m right about your promoting this review for personal reasons, I’m right that you’re promoting this review over a personal belief.”
I’m curious what Dr. Greger has to say in response to this review. I’m not a fan of Minger. I’m a fan of Dr. Greger . However I think in this review Minger is right. Below Joshua Pritkin has emphasized this is reasonably fair review and includes some accolades in the “Sound Science” section.

Again, I’ve only ever seen technical errors corrected. I don’t know what the chlorella thing was referring to. Sometimes people just have questions because they’re confused on the details which I’ve seen him or moderators respond to and clear up. I never saw him actually change a conclusion based on someone’s comment.

The bottom line is that her claims do not align with the evidence whereas Dr. Greger’s do. I suspect that if she had come across anything true or relevant, that he would have looked into it and responded. If you’re that anxious for a response, why don’t you try contacting him directly. You could actually participate in one of his live Q&A’s and maybe your question will be addressed.

Perhaps you are right that people in comments below video have indicated merely technical errors. I don’t know why I have thought somebody has indicated errors in interpreting science evidence. However I don’t think nobody could indicate non-technical errors of Dr. Greger. I also think that medical education is not significantly important in regards to interpreting scientific evidence. Statistics is more important.

Could you indicate where Denise Minger is wrong in her cricital and at the same time friendly review od “How Not to Die”. I am not a fan of Denise Minger. As I know she propagates ketogenic diet. I know scientific evidence wights against this diet. I know she unfairly criticised Campbell. However I think her review of “How Not to Die” is good review.

I read through about half of it. I’m not sure that I’d call the review “critical.” It seems reasonably fair and includes some accolades in the “Sound Science” section. Science is always evolving and it’s impossible to write a science book without some bits of it becoming out-of-date. Dr Greger recently (within the last month) did warn that new research suggested a connection between high-oxalate vegetables and kidney stones when eaten in large quantities. A careful examination of all the points raised in the article would take more time than I have available. Maybe others can comment on specific points.

Which means it has turned out that author of review have been right about oxalates.
“For example, as evidence that high-oxalate vegetables aren’t a problem for kidney stones (a bold claim, given the wide acceptance of foods like rhubarb and beets as risky for stone formers), Greger cites a paper that doesn’t actually look at the effects of high-oxalate vegetables — only total vegetable intake (pages 170-171).

Along with stating “there is some concern that greater intake of some vegetables … might increase the risk of stone formation as they are known to be rich in oxalate,” the researchers suggest the inclusion of high-oxalate veggies in participants’ diets could have diluted the positive results they found for vegetables as a whole: “It is also possible that some of the [subjects’] intake is in the form of high-oxalate containing foods which may offset some of the protective association demonstrated in this study” (1).

In other words, Greger selected a study that not only couldn’t support his claim, but where the researchers suggested the opposite.

Similarly, citing the EPIC-Oxford study as evidence that animal protein increases kidney stone risk, he states: “subjects who didn’t eat meat at all had a significantly lower risk of being hospitalized for kidney stones, and for those who did eat meat, the more they ate, the higher their associated risks” (page 170).

The study actually found that, while heavy meat eaters did have the highest risk of kidney stones, people who ate small amounts of meat fared better than those who ate none at all — a hazard ratio of 0.52 for low meat eaters versus 0.69 for vegetarians (2).”

1. ‘”“It is also possible that some of the [subjects’] intake is in the form of high-oxalate containing foods which may offset some of the protective association demonstrated in this study” (1)”
In other words, Greger selected a study that not only couldn’t support his claim, but where the researchers suggested the opposite.’

That is a dubious conclusion on her/your part since the study itself concluded
“Greater dietary intake of fiber, fruits and vegetables were each associated with a reduced risk of incident kidney stones in postmenopausal women”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241174/

In any good study, the authors always set out the possible confounders and possible alternatve explanations for the results they found as well as the explanation they favour. Blowing tis up in the way Minger has done is simply misleading.

2. “The study actually found that, while heavy meat eaters did have the highest risk of kidney stones, people who ate small amounts of meat fared better than those who ate none at all — a hazard ratio of 0.52 for low meat eaters versus 0.69 for vegetarians (2).”

That study actually concluded

“High intakes of fresh fruit, fibre from wholegrain cereals and magnesium were also associated with a lower risk of kidney stone formation. A high intake of zinc was associated with a higher risk. In conclusion, vegetarians have a lower risk of developing kidney stones compared with those who eat a high meat diet. This information may be important to advise the public about prevention of kidney stone formation.’

These criticisms of Greger for the way he reported those studies, seem biased to me. Greger’s seems pretty reasoable.in the way he reported those studies – right in line with the studies actual conclusions (unlike Minger’s statements).

TG: Thank you for your reply.
In regards to second study I think it is misleading that Dr. Greger haven’t mentioned that people eating small amount of meat fared better than those who ate none at all.
” In conclusion, vegetarians have a lower risk of developing kidney stones compared with those who eat a HIGH MEAT diet.”

In regards to first stuty I think it is also misleading if Dr. Greger invoke this as evidence that oxalates does not raise risk of kidney stones. It would be OK if Dr. Greger invoke this as evidence that vegetarians have lower risk of kidney stones.

Its on youtube. Share it from there with the video set at the preset time.

Load up any YouTube video, seek to a specific time, pause the video, and right click. Then you’ll be able to choose “Copy video URL at current time” and end up with a URL in your clipboard that’ll start the video at the time you chose.

Well, to tell you the truth, I’d prefer that Dr. Greger stick to posting good info re nutrition. His nutritional research is usually very good, but his humor leaves me cold. I have other male friends who are similarly “amused” by potty training jokes… but that level of humor only makes me roll my eyes and question the rung on the evolutionary ladder of the person speaking.

I think Dr. Greger has a good sense of humor and I really don’t see how it’s some low level of humor as you implied… All he did was share with us something about the scientific community and offered more insight into how these things work leading up to the main point. Personally I find the insight he provides into how things happen in the world of research extremely helpful and eye opening as well as engaging. I didn’t think sharing with us something he found was gross and strange that often occurs in medical literature was overly gross or completely pointless at all. And anyone who has taken a high school speech class can tell you that a good speech or lecture starts with an introduction. So not everyone is into it? Ok, cool, but is it really anything worth nitpicking about? If people are that easily negated from viewing something then that sucks for them but you can’t expect everyone in the world to try to please them.

I chop some purple cabbage into my daily salad – an easy way to consume it. It’s also good chopped into ‘slaw’ type slivers and put into a sandwich – gives your sandwich a fresh crunch that is really yummy.

I could easily eat a cup of blueberries a day but is this realistic when trying to fulfill a balanced whole food diet? Also, poverty is a major issue in the USA and poor people are the group who have the hardest time fulfilling dietary recommendations, maintaining academic performance, and later developing cognitive decline. A poor family of 4 can not afford 4 cups of blueberries a day. What is the minimum requirement of blueberries that is affordable in the setting of a WFPBD, where other foods provide antioxidants benefiting cognition and is realistically affordable? I’m not sure this question can be answered?

Honey, you could probably live on blueberries alone. Blueberries, apples, carrots and hazelnuts – I did a search once for those things and they seemed to include all the nutrients I needed. Now I would add dark green leafy vegetables, because I think you could probably live on greens alone, as well. Some in “third world countries” do quite well with rice… maybe a few other things for flavor. Health doesn’t have to be complicated. Health is a simple thing. Good organic foods, pure water, clean air and healthy (love-based, NOT fear-based) thinking… keep it simple. Works. …AND it’s interesting to see what Dr. Greger finds from real, live, modern scientific studies. Bless you, Dr. Greger. You have always meant well and do good things for people.

Yes, from when he was a med school student, he always meant well, even when he was personally treated poorly by his “authority figures” (see Pamela Wible’s work on MD and med school students’ suicides – I believe a movie is coming out very soon or is already out) and when they tried to convince him that things that were unethical, were ok in that ‘biz’. He is doing what he is doing now because he is a very ethical man. His actions are in tune with his values. That is what is meant by “meant well”. Any other questions, Scott?

Hi, Robert Halle. You raise some important questions that should really be addressed as public policy issues. We need to pressure our government to stop subsidizing foods that make us unhealthy, and start subsidizing those that make us healthier. I don’t know that there is a minimum requirement of blueberries, but this research does show benefits at reasonable levels of intake. It can be less expensive to buy frozen berries, so that might be an option for people with fewer financial resources.

I so agree Christine! The government needs to stop subsidizing poison and start subsidizing organic plant foods. The animal agriculture industry would not go down quietly though.

I think that this video was a great example of how amazing plant foods are. I don’t think people need to worry about eating more berries than they can afford and just realize that by adding berries and other high-antioxidant whole plant foods to their diet, they will be doing amazing things for their bodies. If you can afford a 1/4 cup of berries for everyone in your family a day, you’ll get benefits! I have no doubt about that. And frozen are much cheaper and just as healthy and often especially so because they’re usually frozen very shortly after harvesting so they’re actually more fresh than a lot of the fresh berries on the shelves.

you definitely want to depend on purple cabbage for the cost effectiveness. Dr. Gregor has a video that shows purple cabbage to be the most affordable source of antioxidants available. it will give all the benefits of blueberries and more. people just enjoy eating blueberries.

I often find fresh blueberries prohibitively expensive and that’s even with the commercially raised ones. Costco has Natures Touch frozen wild blueberries which are pesticide free for about $11 for a 5 pound bag. I have read that wild blueberries are a little smaller so the skin to fruit ratio is larger and thus the antioxidant value is stronger – plus they taste pretty darn good.

I’ve been buying the Wyman’s of Maine brand. I live on the East Coast, so I dnno if they’re sold in other parts of the country. They’re small, wild and delicious.

But, according to food purists, I should not be mixing the blueberries (or a banana) in with my morning porridge (and soy milk). I’ve always been aware of this, but they do make a great sugar substitute on said cereal. If I ate the two together, all by themselves, I’m thinking I’d find them way too sweet. And I’d STILL want to put a little sweetening on my gruel. Can’t win!

I find it amazing how complicated some people make what should be basically a simple task – eat a well-balanced whole-food plant diet (no “-based”) with little if any oils, sugar, salt. Well, some of them are motivated by money.

“I could not tell whether you were taking that blog post, more generally, the typical food-combining rules seriously.”

I certain try not to, gengo. think we could go bonkers if we believed EVERYthing we read or hear in the food department. Especially since they (the diet gurus) seem to change their minds from week to week.

Back in the day, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond published FIT FOR LIFE. All I (unhappily) remember from it is to eat nothing but fruit for breakfast, certainly not to combine it with other foods. Needless to say, I did not follow that advice (nor am I overweight).

I buy Whole Foods organic frozen wild blueberries. Don’t remember how much they cost, but they are cheaper than fresh. I never checked to see where they come from. Whole Foods isn’t the cheapest grocer from what I gather, but I live in a resort area where in the summer, the grocery prices are rather premium across the board. Now and then in summer there are fresh ones in my CSA share.

Dommy, I have both the 3-lb and the 15 oz. bags in my freezer. But the only small print that I could find was: “Product of USA; Distributed by Jasper Wyman & Son, Milbridge, Maine 04658.” Nothing mentioned about Canada. (?)

A breathing body did call me back. The gal insisted the blueberries receive the best of care, but when I asked what pesticides they used, she said she wasn’t permitted to say (!!). She assured me it was very minimal and only for the berries that seem to need it — and nothing “scary” (her word).

She said there’s a three-year wait to get the label, but by this time next year they will offer an organic version.

Thanks for the info YR. Blueberries including Wyman’s of course, are heavily sprayed (ugh). But I try not to think about that, at least not while eating them. Good to know organic is on the way in 2019.

Technically, I guess nothing grown outdoors is truly organically grown these days. Everything has been sprayed with aluminum, strontium, barium and who knows what else. That’s a sad fact. If you live in an area of the world where they do not spray those things night and day, you are fortunate indeed.

YR, who says you shouldn’t be eating berries on your porridge? That whole “don’t eat fruit with other foods” is a complete myth. They actually found that combining raspberries with adzuki beans, for example, created a synergistic effect that enhanced the antioxidants of both foods. So I wouldn’t call them “purists” so much as the ill-informed who can so often aggressively hold onto these kinds of beliefs.

I only worry about the soy with berries because dairy milk AND soy milk were found to bind to tea antioxidants and dairy does the same with berries or some berries to at least some extent, so I’m anxiously waiting for a video on that which Dr. Greger was said to be coming out with. It’s probably fine though. It even gets confusing because one study found some benefits with blueberries and then a moderator here said that they had mixed the blueberries with some form of dairy in the study (I can’t remember it exactly) and yet they still found benefits. And someone else pointed out in the comments section that the study showing soy milk binds to tea antioxidants was a petri dish study, so that’s also something to think about. Anyways, can’t wait for the video.

Greg, As a nurse educator, I wanted to respond to your question. You’re well aware, one study does not make for convincing research on which to base your children’s nutrition.. The studies you mentioned are in contract to many more which conflict with those results, so if you are tempted to believe the headlines, I’d at least suggest you look carefully at the actual study design, funding, and conclusions, which often are very different than the headlines. Then look at these studies and I believe you’ll have your answer why serving eggs to children (or adults) for breakfast is not a good idea. Check out this topic summary (and the many links to research studies confirming eggs as not healthy foods) and do review these two videos to learn why it’s so easy to find misleading headlines and deceptively-designed studies:https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/eggs/https://nutritionfacts.org/video/eggs-and-cholesterol-patently-false-and-misleading-claims/https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-the-egg-board-designs-misleading-studies/
Hope that sheds some light on your question. It IS frustrating when misleading headlines confuse the issue!

They probably do help kids grow more quickly. All those natural bovine and chicken growth hormons will have an effect. Then there are the added/synthetic growth hormones fed to farmed animals which will end up in the dairy and egg products. Whether this is a good thing is an entirely different matter and I can’t think off-hand of any long term studies of the impact on mortality and morbidity.

Greg, watch the plethora of videos on eggs on this site, it will answer your question why human children (or any humans) should not be consuming eggs. Also watch the videos on animal protein in general.

Dr. G doesn’t seem to distinguish between regular blueberries and wild blueberries. However, the renowned intuitive healer, Anthony William, constantly teaches that “wild” blueberries are way more powerful and nutritious. He also says that sugar from fruit cannot be compared to refined sugar, and that the former does not cause weight gain. I can attest to that because I eat tons of fruit, and my weight is perfect.

All I ever needed to know about blueberries is they are loaded with pterostilbene, an analog of resveratrol that is 80% more available for uptake than the 20% for resveratrol.

But in re: the video showing there are areas in the brain that MRIs show the blueberries are increasing perfusion, I’ll put my money on beet juice to increase perfusion throughout the brain, not just in small sections.

That said, I take a small glass of beet juice + Just Blueberry juice each morning. I don’t do, and probably never will do an MRI so I’ll just have to rely on feedback from within to determine if I am on the right course. And one thing I’ve noticed is, my body having less sub cutaneous fat, after the beet juice intake and/or the dark chocolate intake throughout the day, my veins on my forearms and calves stand up above my skin suggesting open and fully filled veins.

I do try to eat fresh blueberries when the price is right, but will settle for the blueberry juice and/or pterostilbene supplements just to keep the intake at consistent levels when not on hand.

pterastilbene increases total and LDL cholesterol in some people. Have you noticed any such effects?
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Tom, is pterastilbene different from pterostilbene? Reason I ask is, as stated in the passage below from a hasty web search shows that the pterostilbene version can actually reduce cholesterol.

“Low doses of pterostilbene (for a human, 10mg or less usually) seem to hold some benefit for cognition, and are thought to be one of the bioactive components of blueberries (alongside the anthocyanin content). Higher doses may not have said neurological effects, but higher supplemental dosages of pterostilbene (in the 250-500mg range usually) seem to have benefit for reducing cholesterol and glucose in research animals. The reduction in blood glucose and improvement in insulin sensitivity is quite potent, with a few studies noting that it is comparable to metformin as the reference drug.”https://examine.com/supplements/pterostilbene/

Tom, what you posted was accurate to a point, but by digging a little deeper I found your referenced part of the data not so worrisome. That is:
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Introduction. The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the effect of pterostilbene on metabolic parameters. Methods. A prospective, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study that enrolled 80 patients with a total cholesterol ≥200 mg/dL and/or LDL ≥ 100 mg/dL. Subjects were divided into four groups: (1) pterostilbene 125 mg twice daily; (2) pterostilbene 50 mg twice daily; (3) pterostilbene 50 mg + grape extract (GE) 100 mg twice daily; (4) matching placebo twice daily for 6–8 weeks. Endpoints included lipids, blood pressure, and weight. Linear mixed models were used to examine and compare changes in parameters over time. Models were adjusted for age, gender, and race. Results. LDL increased with pterostilbene monotherapy (17.1 mg/dL; P = 0.001) which was not seen with GE combination (P = 0.47). Presence of a baseline cholesterol medication appeared to attenuate LDL effects. Both systolic (−7.8 mmHg; P < 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (−7.3 mmHg; P < 0.001) were reduced with high dose pterostilbene. Patients not on cholesterol medication (n = 51) exhibited minor weight loss with pterostilbene (−0.62 kg/m2; P = 0.012). Conclusion. Pterostilbene increases LDL and reduces blood pressure in adults.
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I found it interesting that grape extract (GE) attenuated the LDL increase, so I assume that pterostilbene from blueberries might also have the same effect.

I download and keep all my lab work and went back and looked at my cholesterol numbers from a time before when I was consuming little if any blueberries in the form of juice, and my most recent numbers when I am eating and drinking lots of blueberry products… including pterostilbene supplements occasionally, but not often.

My labs showed a recent drop in total cholesterol to being well within range (from upper in-range) and a continued slightly out-of-range number (high by a few points) of LDL.

I can't really draw any conclusions from my labs, simply because I self medicate with so many supplements and the like to the point that any and everyone of them may be affecting my status.

But the ptero/GE results from the link you posted suggests that even the pterostilbene monotherapy is easily fixed with something as simple as including a juice.

All-in-all, I take the points you posted as a caution to instead offer a solution when taken in toto to solve a minor concern in re: pterostilbene therapy.

Lonie and TG: ” Pterostilbene increases LDL and reduces blood pressure in adults.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4099343/). This study was done with purified pterostilbene, and I don’t know if it acts differently when consumed as a purified extract when compared to in a whole blueberry.

But, the amounts taken by study subjects were either 50 mg twice daily (low dose) or 125 mg twice daily (high dose). For comparison purposes: “The amount of daily pterostilbene consumption varies according to dietary fruit intake, and it has been estimated that pterostilbene content per blueberry varies from 99 ng to 520 ng/gram depending on the type of berry ingested.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649683/) A 1/2 cup fresh blueberries weights about 75 grams (https://www.livestrong.com/article/387016-what-is-a-serving-size-of-blueberries/), so it would contain about 7.4-39 micrograms pterostilbene. Thus, the amount taken by subjects at the LOW dose in the study was about 676 – 128 times the amount of pterostilbene present in 1/2 cup of blueberries.

Dr. Gegor would you please respond to YouTuber Jeff Nippard’s interview of nutrition researcher, Kamal Patel? They discuss the effects of a vegan, plant based diet. It left me more confused than ever. I’m DYING to know what your reaction is! Here’s a link if you’re interested https://youtu.be/_qoyoItiB1E.

But, what about dried blueberries, will they have the same effect? Or a similar one?
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Good question.

And while all I have to offer is my off the cuff opinion, I’m going to say that it may depend on the drying process. I would think if the drying were done by best-practices, the nutrition should be pretty much the same since theoretically any way, all you are loosing is water?

But even if a few nutrients go out with the water, you will probably eat more dried berries than you would fresh, so nutrient-wise, you should get more from the dried.

As far as I know, few if any nutrients are destroyed in the drying processes in general. Maybe someone else has more in depth knowledge? It’s a very important point.

Mariano, I remember in one of Dr. Greger’s videos (I can’t remember which one) it showed that dried blueberries did not have nearly as many antioxidants, this is not the case for all dried berries though. In another video however, they showed cardiovascular benefits from blueberries and I believe the study used dried blueberry powder.

I can’t afford fresh blueberries either, unless they’re on sale. It’s much more affordable to buy berries frozen and it’s actually the only way I even have access to wild blueberries.
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Same here vis a vis the affordability issue. When I find them on sale I buy beau-coup flats and freeze the excess of what I can eat fresh before shriveling.

I’m currently eating some thawed cherries that I bought and froze. The blue berries seem to hold together better as the cherries lose a lot of juice when thawing so you have to be careful as the bags they come in have air holes that allow the juice to drain out.

Years ago, when I used to have a supplement-centric view of nutrition and health, one supplement I sold (as part of a network marketing group) which was high in anthocyanin berry extracts added piperine from black pepper to boost the absorption. I know piperine massively boosts the absorption of curcumin and other turmeric compounds; does it do the same for anthocyanins? Or was this supplement company working on conjecture? Has this been put to the test somewhere?

There is no evidence, to the best of my knowledge, that adding piperine or black pepper will boost the absorption of anthocyanins. I searched the literature and could not find a single study indicating this to be the case. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t work; we just have no evidence to date (as far as I could find) to suggest that it does.

Secondly, I want to correct something that “S” mentioned in a comment as part of this thread. Dr. Greger does have a video about cardamom and black pepper, but the video was about boosting your natural killer cell levels (to fight off tumors and other invaders), but NOT about cardamom and/or black pepper boosting anthocyanin or blueberry phytochemical absorption.

So in conclusion, black pepper may help boost our natural killer cells, but no evidence is available that black pepper or piperine improves absorption of anthocyanins.

Plants don’t lose their beneficial effects due to regular consumption of them. Actually when you eat them regularly, the positive effects have lasting power. If someone’s mentality is in poor health and they eat the blueberries and experience a change, maybe that difference will stop being noticed but not because the benefits have lowered but simply because they’re healthier so the change won’t seem drastic.

I think I understand why you asked this question… that is, does our body become accustomed to the blueberries and start to “ignore” them.

Come to think of it I do not remember off-hand if any studies referenced here deal with long-term blue berry consumption. Intuitively one would think the benefits continue but maybe not as acutely as Dr. Greger’s graphs show.

T’would be a help if someone posted a lengthy study showing the effects of blue berries.

Dehydrated Blueberries? I like the taste and eating experience and I wonder about the real nutritive value compared to fresh Blueberries? I have an analysis given by the dehydration company. I would like to send it [a PDF] to you for your comments, would that be acceptable?